What are some of the simplest phyla of the Animal Kingdom?

Choose two animal phyla. Discuss how closely or distantly related they are based on characteristics presented in the tree.

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This is a pretty bare-bones problem.

I am going to help you decide on the two phyla by doing the following:

1) List several of the phyla in the animal kingdom, and give you some of their basic characteristics.
2) Give you some websites that you can read from
3) Give you an idea of the kind of analysis this question is asking from you.

#1 CHORDATA (includes all the vertebrates - fish -> mammals, as well as some animals that have less developed spines, like tunicates and lancelets)
This animal group has some degree of development of a spine or notochord to support the body, a single dorsal (along the back) nerve cord and a tail.